Loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics



Allg 4, 1953 l. B. BAsslNDALE 2,647,544

LOOM FOR WEAVING TUFTED PILE FABRICS Filed Sept. 13, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet l n 1 E nn.. vm. QN H. u YV MN N QN ...7flwww,h. xm Q H- u 4......- .m Q/ MY .J NN SiiVf. zii m. .|-----+f.w,.

Allg 4, 1953 l. B. BAsslNDALE 2,647,544

LOOM FOR WEAVING TUFTED PILE FABRICS Filed Sept. 13, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 4, 1953 l. B. BAsslNDALi-z 2,647,544

LOOM FOR WEVING TUFTED PILE FABRICS Filed Sept. 13, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 u w mm m l 5 M1' Q Patented Aug. 4, 1953 LOOM FOR WEAVING TUFTED PILE FABRICS Isaac Bradley Bassindale, Gldham, England, as-

signor to Platt Brothers and Company Limited,

Oldham, England Application September 13, 1950, Serial No. 184,552

In Great Britain September 15, 1949 6 Claims.

This invention of improvements relating to looms for weaving tufted pile fabrics, refers to spool Axrninster carpet looms and in particular to the transferring mechanism for disengaging and removing tube frames each carrying a spool of tuft yarn from the carrying chains of a loom and transferring them to the place where tuft yarns are inserted between warp threads, and restoring the tube frames to the carrier chains.

In the operation of said transferring mechanism the tuft yarns guided in guide tubes on the tube frames are inserted between the warp threads and subsequently the tufts are severed from the yarn in the tube frame and the tube frame is restored to the carrier chains.

It sometimes happens that a tuft is not properly severed by the knives and as the tube frame is raised to the carrier chains the unsevered length of tuft yarn is dragged upwards and, being anchored to fabric at the fell of the said fabric, becomes tangled and may cause the tube frame to be pulled out of the carrier chains to fall on to the loom and possibly cause damage. Or the tube frame may be carried round by the carrier chains with the tuft yarn unsevered and when the next tube frame is taken from the carrier chains anad moved to insert tuft yarn between the warp threads the knives moving forward endeavour to cut the double tuft yarn.

The present invention has for its object the provision of electrically operated stop-motion mechanism, whereby the loom is automatically and instantaneously stopped in the event of tuft yarn not being properly severed by the knives and an uncut length of tuft yarn being carried by the tube frame in its return journey to the carrier chains, the stop-motion being adapted to be brought into operation on failure of the knives to sever the tuft yarn at any point along the width of the fabric.

The invention consists in electrically operated stop motion mechanism for a spool Axminster carpet loom of the type referred to adapted to be brought into operation on failure of the knives to sever the tuft yarn at any point along the width of the fabric by means including a cradle pivotally mounted -on an overhead shaft in the loom and having a light cross-bar extending the full Width of the fabric and located above and slightly tothe front of the fell of the fabric, said cradle being in operative association through a lever system with a cam set in timed relation to the main'cams of the loom whereby the cradle may be swung backwards and forwards out of the path of movement of the tube carrier, an

(Cl. ISS-336) electrical contact terminal secured to a bracket on the loom frame adjacent to one of the side pivots of the said cradle insulated from the loom frame and forming o ne terminal in the low voltage circuit of the electrical stop motion,.a bar pivoted t0 the loom-frame adjacent to said contact terminal and forming the other terminal of the low voltage-circuit, and a sequence switch intercalated in the low Voltage electrical circuit associated with the motor starter and means for operating said switch in timed sequence.

An illlustrative embodiment of the invention will now be described with the aid of the accompanying drawings in which only so much of a spool Axminster carpet loom is shown as is necessary for a clear understanding of the invention. r

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front view, broken to shorten the figure, showing the invention applied to a spool Axminster carpet loom; Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the parts shown at the center and right in Fig. 1, looking toward the right and drawn to a reduced scale, Fig..2 also showing an auxiliary cam later referred to; Fig. 3 is a diagram of the electric circuit.

The same reference characters indicate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings l Referring to Figs.- l and 2, I5 indicates the frame of the loom; IiI, |12 indicates a pair of brackets secured to the loom frame in which is revolvably mounted a shaft I3. Suspended from and secured to the shaft I3 is a cradle I4 comprised of pendant side arms AI 5, I6 joined at their lower extremities by alight cross-bar I 'I extending the full width of the fabric and nor mally located above the fell of the fabric being woven and slightly on that side of the fell nearest the front of the loom. One arm I5 of 'the cradle I4 is provided at the rear with a projection I8 furnished atits extremity with a bowl or roller I9.

In the rear of the cradle I4 there is located a bell-crank'lever 2i) pivoted at 2| in a bracket 22 secured to the loom frame II).

The free end cf the longer arm 23 of the bell-crank lever 2B projects below the roller I9. The shorter arm 24 of the bell-crank lever 20 is furnished adjacent to` itsl extremity with a screw-threaded bolt 25. Located on the loom frame I0 adjacent to said screw bolt 25 is a sequence switch 26 having a contact plunger 21 adapted for contact by the terminal screw bolt 25.

The sequence switch may be constructed simi- 3 lar to the sequence switch disclosed in pending application Ser. No. 150,272, led March 17, 1950, in which the sequence switch is disclosed as comprising a plunger corresponding to the plunger '2i which is adapted to bridge a pair of contacts arranged in the switch housing. The contacts of 'this sequence switch '26 are arranged in the low voltage circuit in the manner shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The bell-crank lever 20 is in operative association by means of a rod IZilfconnected fte the arm 23 of the bell-crank lever 2El with an auxiliary cam, set in timed relation with lth'e main cams of the loom. The rod 28 connected 'at its lower end to one end of a lever 28a pivotally connected at 28b to a braclnit-28c carried -nn .the loom frame, the lever 28 being furnished 4iat approximately mid-position with a bowl 2Bd tracking the auxiliary cam 28. The rod 28'isfin ltwo parts adjustably connected together by a turnbuckle 23.

Located adjacent to :one pf 'the pivots of :the cradle it 'between the1arm AIl; Ifof the .'cradlerand the adjacent bracket IZis fan electrical contact terminal ist 'which .is secured to, but 'insulated from,'the frame 1t ou'. the looml'by *an insulation piece 31.

The terminal "30 -forms A'one terminal 1in the low voltage `electrical 'circuit the other terminal of which is providedby 'fa screwterrninal A312 radjustably mounted in 'abracliet 'BB hinged at 3ft tothe frame V`10.

The h'bracket 3% "is furnished `adjacent ft'o its free extremity with 'a ls'crew-threadf-x'i bolt "35, the lower end of which projects into lthe path of movement of Afan arm 536 vfast 'on ythe 'shaft '113 adjacent to the arm I5 of the cradle lli.

As seen in FigfZ, 37 is a tube 'frame which is operated "in known manner *by "a tube carrier, not shown.

1n `the normal working fof lthe loom 'the "two terminals -3`0, 32 are -maintained"in 'the closed position VVduring K'a portion rdi 'the'l'oom cycle, but no vcurrent 'flows through ithe .low voltage cir- 'cuit until the sequence switch AJ2 G .therein iand :associated with the electric circuit of the `starter of *the "driving lmotor 'is `nlovezl into the ".on 'position by cam action.

When the tube carrier carrying the tube tframe B7 moves into operative positionto finsert stuft yarn between Lthe 'warp Ikthreads Athe 'cradle 1'4 tis 'arm 23, which, under the upward fmovernent :of the rod '28 "actuated 4by the fa'ioresaid auxiliary cam, presses against the fro'ller "I5 I.inthe extension I3 ofthe cradle arm '|6. `This"backward movement Yof the cradle `v131i displaces the crossbar l1 out o'i the path o rmovementlofthetube carrier, and theoperation'vo'the loomfcontinues.

length of tuft yarn andwh'enthefcradle M is swung `forwar`d v'as aforesaid, the cross-bar lil meets against" the taut uncut" length nf tuftyarn as indicated"atYfFigfZanifthe forward'l'traverse `push` unit F1 breaking Contact 4' of the cradle I4 is arrested as shown in Fig. 2. The terminals 35i, 32 of the low voltage circuit therefore remain in Contact.

`When, now, the switch 2S in the low voltage circuit associated. with the starter circuit is put into the on position by action of the beforementioned auxiliary cam'in effecting the downward movement of the a1m'23,the inward movement of the arm E@ and the actuation of the plunger 2l to close the sequence switch 2t, elec- ,tricalcurrentnows ,through the low voltage circuit.

The completion oi said circuit serves to energ'ise a'relay, which in turn operates the starter to bre'akthe electric circuit of the driving motor and bring about .stoppage of said motor, where- .upon thelo'orn .is brought to a standstill before any damage is sustained.

r The sequence of operations of the electric stop motion will be described with reference to the diagram jshown :in `l'i'g. :3, in `which 'B indicates atransformer "for low (safe) voltage; .C indicates atrip Arelay with .one normally closed contactindicated at C1; D indicates a relay with twonornrally'open contacts, D1, D2; 'E `indicates a trip contact switch onthe loom, the contacts 35i vand 32; F lindicates a change-over push unit actuated .by fthe loom `starting handle, having .four

terminals F1, F2, 'F3 vand F4; AGlindieates 'a re-set button on the loom; H rindicates a signal llamp;

J indicatesa sequence switch, the 'switch 26.

The operation is Vas follows:

:With the loom running normally, all the -contacts and relays are as 'shown in thediagrain, but when the forward movement of 'the vcradle .iii is arrested by an luncut length of ltuit vyarn 'the terminals 30, '32, corresponding to the switch E, remainin contact, so maintaining the switch E ofthe diagrarnc'losed, the electric Vcircuit :is not completed until the sequence fswitch J is closed (corresponding to sequence switch .25), thus'energising the relay coil D and closing contacts DVD?, contact D1 providing :n1-alternative path for electric `current through the relay coil D, making the relay coil "D Iseli-retaining and now independento'f the contact at E. The contact DZ'being closed provides a circuit through the contacts'F4,"F2 and relay coil C, 'thus breaking contact 'G1 which causes the circuit to the electric `motor to beopened automatically when the supply voltage fails,whereby to'trip the starting handle and stop the loom.

The starting'handle, which is spring-loaded, thus returns to the off position and in so doing releases the clutch between the electromotor and 'the loom and applies a mechanical brake, Yat the same time also releasing the change-over between F1 and F2 and bridging F3 and F4.

The relay coil is now de-energised and C1 returns to normal Aclosed position. An alternative circuit then hows through contacts F3, F4, lamp H and contact D1, thus indicating the cause of "the stoppage.

The-driving motorean 'be switched on if required and the LLloom "inched at thefcperators will, but, if the starting handle is moved to `full Yon position vbefore removal of the cause of stoppage,the stop motion will again act.

Having rectied the cause of the stoppage, the operatorcan thenpress the re-set button G, and 'the loom isagain `ready forrunning.

The ,means `for moving the starting handle quickly'from "on position to OIT `position are described in the specication'led vwith co-pend- -1 ing application for Letters Patent No. 150,272, March 17, 195i).r V

Instead of the sequence switch 26 operated by the cam operated lever a camv operated sequence switch as described in the aforementioned specification may be employed.

The provision of an electrically operated stopmotion as described ensures that the loom is stopped automatically if the forward traverse of the cradle is arrested by an uncut tuft yarn.

The cradle is of very light construction and even a single uncut length of tuft yarn at any point in the width of the fabric will hold the cradle back and prevent its forward movement being completed.

What I claim is:

1. In an electrically operated stop motion mechanism for spool Axminster tufted pile fabric looms of the type including transferring mechanism for disengaging and removing tube frames each carrying a spool of tuft yarn from carrying chains of the loom and transferring them to the place where tuft yarns are inserted between warp threads of the tufted pile fabric being woven and are cut by the loom knives and restoring the tube frames to the carrier chains, k

said electrically operated stop motion mechanism including an electrical circuit for automatically stopping the loom on failure of the knives of the loom to sever the tuft yarn at any point along the width of the fabric being woven by the loom, a loom frame, an overhead shaft pivotally mounted on the loom frame, a cradle carried on said pivoted shaft including a cross bar extending the full width of the fabric being woven by the loom, said cross bar being normally located above and slightly to the front of the fell of the fabric, a lever system carried by the loom frame including a projecting arm which moves upwardly and downwardly in timed sequence during the loom cycle, said projecting arm being operatively associated with said cradle for swinging said cradle backwardly during the upward movement of said arm and for permitting said cradle to swing forwardly during the downward movement of said arm, a sequence switch in said circuit operatively associated with said lever system for actuation to closed position thereby upon downward movement of said arm, and a second switch in said circuit in series with said sequence switch whereby said circuit is closed and the loom stopped when said sequence switch and said second switch are both closed at the same time, said second switch being operatively associated with said cradle and arranged to be actuated to closed position when said cradle is swung backwardly by said arm of said lever system during its upward movement, said second switch being held in closed position by said cradle upon the failure of the knives of the loom to sever a tuft yarn which in turn is engaged by said bar and prevents said cradle from moving forward after being swung backwards by the upward movement of said arm of said lever system.

2. An electrically operated stop motion mechanism for spool Axminster looms as claimed in claim 1, in which said cradle comprises a pair of pendent side arms to the lower ends of which said cross bar is attached, and an arm projecting from the rear of one of said pendent side arms and having a roller mounted thereon operatively associated with and adapted to engage the upper surface of the projecting arm of the lever system.

3. An electrically operated stop motion mechanism as claimed in claim 2, in which said lever system. Acomprises a bellcrank 'lever pivotally mounted behind said cradle and in which said: projecting arm of the lever system is an `arm of said bellcrank lever, the other varm of said bellcrank lever being operatively associated with said sequence switch for effecting its operation.

4. An electrically operated stop motion mechanism for spool Axminster looms as claimed in claim 1, in which said second switch includes a contact mounted on the loom frame and insulated therefrom, a movable contact electrically con-f' nected to the loom frame and normally biased to' closed position with respect to said xed contact, and means operatively associated with said cradle for disengaging said movable contact from said fixed contact when the cross bar of said cradle is in its normal forward position and for permitting said movable contact to engage said fixed contact when said cradle is swung backwardly.

5. An electrically operated stop motion mechanism for spool Axminster looms as claimed in claim 1, in which said second switch comprises a fixed electrical contact terminal mounted in fixed position with respect to the loom frame and electrically insulated therefrom, a movable electrical contact terminal pivotally mounted with respect to the loom frame adjacent to said fixed contact terminal and adapted to normally engage said fixed contact terminal, and an arm operatively associated with said cradle and movable in sequence therewith for lifting said movable contact from the fixed contact when the cross bar of the cradle is in its normal forward position and to permit said movable contact to engage said xed contact when the cradle is swung backwardly.

6. In an electrically operated stop motion mechanism for spool Axminster carpet looms of the type including a loom frame, carrying chains, tube frames each carrying a spool of tuft yarn, knives for cutting the tuft yarn, and transferring mechanism for -disengaging and removing tube frames carrying a spool of tuft yarn from the carrying chains of the loom and transferring them to the place where tuft yarns are inserted between warp threads of the tufted pile fabric being woven by the loom and for restoring the tube frames to the carrier chains, said electrically operated stop motion mechanism including an electrical circuit for automatically stopping the loom on failure of the knives o-f the loom to sever the tuft yarn at any point along the width of the fabric being woven by the loom, a cradle pivotalr ly mounted o-n the loom frame and including a cross bar exten-ding the full width of the fabric being woven by the loom, said cross bar being normally located above and slightly to the front of the fell of the fabric, a lever system carried by the loom frame including a projecting arm which moves upwardly and downwardly in timed sequence during the loom cycle, said projecting arm being operatively associated with said cradle for swinging said cradle backwardly during the upward movement o-f said projecting yarm and for permitting said cradle to swing forwardly during the downward movement of said projecting arm, a sequence switch in said electrical circuit operatively associated with said lever system for actuation thereby in timed seque-nce to closed position upon the downward movement of said projecting arm, and a second switch in said electrical circuit in series with said sequence switch whereby said circuit is closed and the loom stopped only when said sequence switch and said 7 second switch are both closed at the same time, said second switch being operatively associated With said cradle and arranged tol be lactuated to closed position when said cradle is swung backwardly by said proecting arm of said lever system during its upward movement, said second switch remaining in closed position upon the failure of the knives of the loom to sever a tuft yarn which in turnis engaged by the bar'o the cradle and prevents said cradle from moving for- Ward after being swung backwards by the up.

ward movementof said projecting arm of said lever system, said lever system in the subse- 8 quent downward movement of said projecting arm actuating said sequence switch to closed position thereby closing said electrical circuit and stopping the loom.

ISAAC' BRADLEY BASSINDALE.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,366,280 Robb Dec. 22, 1942 2,365,008 Robb Dec. 12, 1944 

